Guerrilla Campaign Ruffles Feathers (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Guerrilla Campaign Ruffles FeathersWhat’s Next BlogA video claiming to show radiation from a cell phone creating enough energy to pop popcorn turned out to be a hoax, but only after it was viewed by millions. BL Ochman was one of the ones tricked by the video, and offers her thoughts on what makes a successful guerrilla campaign (hint: don’t shoot yourself in the foot in the process). “Good guerilla marketing is not just about making noise or attracting
attention. Because what does it matter if you get the attention of four
million people if they wouldn’t end up wanting to buy your product? In
this case, the product category most likely to benefit from these
videos is non-Bluetooth headsets like these.“Old-School Still TopsPR StudiesTaking an admittedly very small sample for a random survey, Richard Bailey discovers that media relations still constitutes a big percentage of jobs for those in public relations and communications. He surveyed some former students after getting some complaints that students of PR do not learn enough about media relations in this era of new media–but also notes the former is becoming ever more important. “The surprise isn’t that media relations is way ahead as the primary
activity (it will always have been there for junior employees in public
relations), but that community relations and social media activities
are becoming more prominent. But my sample is small: the social media
engagement figure represents one student whose whose sole focus this
was for a not-for-profit organisation; the community relations activity
reflects two students whose primary focus this was.”Blog Potomac Wrap-UpThe Buzz BinBlog Potomac was held in Virginia on June 13, and was a great success. Excellent sessions, the right amount of socializing and networking opportunities, and a terrific lineup of speakers. Geoff Livingston gives the highlights, and links to all the places where anyone who missed out can catch up. “Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the event were the many positive
comments from local social media wonks and corporate PR pros alike.
Even though the WiFi sucked, people really enjoyed the cross-mix of
communicators, and participated in some fantastic networking.”Switching TeamsThe FlackWhile taking one’s political communications experience and turning to a career in television journalism is fairly common these days (Chris Matthews, George Will, George Stephanopoulos and the late, great, Tim Russert are just a couple examples that spring to mind), it is less common for a media professional to turn to “the other side” (Fox News’ Tony Snow is a prominent example). Peter Himler discusses this move in regards to Sen. Obama’s latest press secretary, Linda Douglass (formerly of ABC News). “Hopefully her fluency with the issues and her ability to honestly
connect with the media gaggle will differentiate her from her patently
dishonest predecessors and current rivals, something I’m not sure that other TV journo-turned-PR guy Tony Snow truly achieved. Maybe Ms. Douglass will even succeed in spinning the verb “spin” out of the PR vernacular?”